There are a lot of satellites floating around the Earth. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, there are 11,300 satellites in orbit. Nearly 3,000 are no longer in service, and either need to be repaired or sent back into the atmosphere to burn up safely.
That’s where Starfish Space sees a huge opportunity with its Otter spacecraft. The Washington company recently secured a new investment of $21 million along with a $15 million mission contract from NASA. This is in addition to a $37.5 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to put one of the company’s Otter satellite servicing vehicles into orbit by 2026.
The NASA contract will fund a full-scale Otter to inspect defunct or inoperable satellites in low-earth orbit with a future goal of capturing the satellites, repairing them to extend their useful life or removing them safely from orbit. The award was part of a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research contract to complete the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) mission.
“The SSPICY mission is designed to mature technologies needed for U.S. commercial capabilities for satellite servicing and logistics or disposal,” said Bo Naasz, senior technical lead for in-space servicing, manufacturing, and assembly in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “In-space inspection helps us characterize the physical state of a satellite, gather data on what may leave spacecraft stranded, and improve our understanding of fragmentations and collisions, a difficult but critical factor in a sustainable space operating environment.”
About the size of an oven, Otter is designed to autonomously track, dock, service and if necessary, deorbit satellites. The electric propulsion system will allow it to service multiple satellites since fuel is not a limiting factor. In the initial phase, Otter will remain a safe distance from the targeted satellites and other information about their status, debris field, spin rates and other information to establish its current condition.
The Otter will be used by the U.S. Space Force to enter a geostationary orbit so it can service vehicles, beginning in 2026. As Department of Defense satellites lack the ability to change orbits easily, Otter will provide additional maneuvering capability by attaching itself to the satellite and pushing or pulling the satellite into a new or modified orbit.
“Starfish looks forward to collaborating with the Space Force to build the capabilities required to enable dynamic space operations,” said Trevor Bennett, co-founder of Starfish Space.
Starfish is one of nearly 100 space companies in Washington State exploring new pathways to planetary exploration, connectivity, maintenance and propulsion.